Release valve



April 21, 1953 W, Y, STAMPER 2,635,628

RELEASE wxLVE` Original Filed Jan. 29, 1946 (ttorneg Patented Apr. 21, 1953 STATES omer.

RELESE VALVE Willson Y. fS'ta-inpe'r', lNewark,

Je, assigner Thomas-A.- Eison, Incorporated, Grange, NHL, a' corporatio'nof NeWJeSey' Original application `I'anuary. 25;194'6; Seria'INo. sautez', aow rateiit No. zsezptliaateujhprir $1,952. Divided and this application August l0, 1950,-Seria1No. 178,637'

el claims; (cl. lsi--Y-'slr'afy entitled-Portable Battery now Patent 2,592,207. dat'edfzApril 8i, 1952;.

This; invention relatesrt'ol a novel form` of. rie'- leaseivalvefanclimoreparticularly tofsuona valve which: can be' set readily to 'release at. different seleeted pressures. The: invention. is especially adsiptiled to .ser-velas' arelea'se .or vent' valve fora battery. but. .no unnecessary' limitation: thereto is intended.

, lexis. an obi'ectzor inventionto' .providefa nevelaiid improve'direleasei valveinarving: a 'controli element. operable to'. Vseti the valve.` to. release at higher and lower pressures? abovel atmospl'iezriov pressure.

' another ebieet' iste-prendeva. smaila compact releasevalve-or simple 'andi economical construe tionVr whieh is adapted especially for the iiller.

dell? pressures.' Y

A further and more speci'c ebjeotlli'sfte pro'- vide a novel venting element for a portable -minelam'pbattery Vvv'hieh isi setas the battery `case islfo'loseol:L to release; at a relativelyA presa sure? to? prevent accidental" spillage of electrolyte dur-ing usefof the-batteryand Whichis' setasftlie battery case i's`= o'penedto` release at a` relatively lowfvv pressure ysuitable for vcharging' andy effective vstill?t'o'fprevent"L accidental spillage of electrolyte it'alt'hlldllg during." Charging. l

These and other' objects andiv featureslof my invention will` be apparent from thelollowing description and the'l appended claims.

rrthedescription of'rmy invention reference l isv had tol the' acoompanyin'g'dravvings', 'of' which:

Figurer is a-V fraction'al elevation of aminelampi'ba'ttery showing ya typical and preferred application orl a release valve according to` my invention;

Figure 2 isa top' plan View of this battery showing the" case cover fractionally and in'ropen position;

' Figure' 3 isa,V principally sectional view o'nth'e` iiii'e` i5 3; of Figure z; showing' the :release valves off my invention; and

Figure 4 is a section to enlarged soale taken the' construction of one of these valves.-

The battery fractionally shown in Figures 1V and 2'lias an oblong case lil made for instance of' plastic.

This case has aV4 centralI partitionw'all` l ldividing the interior'space into compartxrie'ntslZ"4 and I3; Inithesevoompartm'ents there centtothe'hinge l-is-l accable 2n for connectingv the battery toa utilization-:device suohas amine'- lanp nots'hown'). Atl thevother/end' of the lidisi a' vpairf of charging terminals` 20w which nare exposed-fforc'onneetion to Iafoharging deviceW-hen the-cover. is 'in thefpartially-open position shown in*I Figure' 416 lThe.V lid i6. Vprojects considerably abovej the retaining bandi buthasa-l Wide `slot 2xt midway its; length; which extends throughoutY the width of the lid. In the bottom wall of this slot 'fi there are respectivev openings .22, for4 the cells Iilfl andl5: As-shoW-n: inA Figure 3i eachcell has.; y a .threaded-filler tube 23having therein a iill'er opening for. the cell. This llerl Atube egtend through the respective op`ening-224 and lia-s .a circularnut 24threaded thereon to secure the lid-- to each Celli. Although the: nuts. 2li are` inset slightly` into-counterbores .surrounding the openings .22; theyextend considerably upwardlyl into the s1ot2- I. Positioned in this slotis.afbloclU 26- havingyfour` mounting .holes 21 for` respec--.

tiverelease valves l28. The.; bottom portions these .holes receivev the nuts 24 when thegb ook.

isy in; mounted=-positioni T-VIlhe'4 bloolisfheld-in placev'byae screwl 279K- w-hichpassesy .through the centraly portion thereof4 and which threads .into

the lia.- rhevalves-zs areoarriedwitithe 'block I 26A so' that f allfcan'. be; mounted.` and removed as ai. unit.. They present inventionrelates particularly to theseVV valvesi,jwhereforefthey` are: herein next Vdescribed :im detail;

Each valve 28:` comprises a-tubular valve?xnelfa-- leerte).y extendingfthrough a mounting hole 2i y ofthe block` 26; The mounting hole has-an` enlarge'd diameter' portion at l` its inner end' tov form an; interior annularkshoulderil therein.. Eachvalve" tube" 301l has 'an annular flange 32 whicht's lthe'enlarged' diameter portion'- of the'fmountingi `hrvilezandiwhich seatsiagainst the shoulder end portion ofthe valve member againsty ther bl'oekzzf to 'ho'ldathe4v flange-,3211 in. seated relation to" the' sht'iulder 31 lslmbracingv a portion of the 1 valve member 3B beyond the flange 32 is a rubber gasket 32a. When the block 26 is mounted in the slot 2| in the inner end of each valve member 30 projects telescopically into the respective filler tube 23 and the gasket 32aI is compressed between the ange 32 and the upper edge of the iiller tube, by pressure exerted by the screw 29, to seal the valve member to the cell.

The valve member 30 is provided with adjoining intermediate portions between the flange 32 and the outer threaded portion engaged by the cap 33, which intermediate portions have larger and smaller diameters. In these intermediate portions there are respective outlet passageways 34 and 35. On the valve member 30 there is a rubber band or sleeve 36 covering these outlet passageways. This sleeve has a uniform outside diameter and has a lesser inside diameter at one end than at the other to conform to the intermediate portions of the valve member. Accordingly, the sleeve has a lesser thickness portion covering the outlet 35 and a greatervthickness portion covering'the outlet 34. This causes the portion of the sleeve overlying the outlet 35 to have a lesser spring constant than has the portion overlying the outlet 34, with the result that with increasing pressure in the cell the outlet 35 will open at a predetermined lower cell pressure and, should the outlet 35 be closed oi from the cell and the internal pressure o the cell be allowed to increase further, the outlet 34 will open at a predetermined higher pressure. Typically, the sleeve 36 is made so that the outlet 35 will open at a cell pressure of from one to rive pounds per square inch and the outlet 34 will open at a cell pressure between tWenty-ve and thirty-ve pounds per square inch. Whenever either outlet is open, the gas is allowed to escape from the block 26 by way of slots 21a running from the respective mounting holes 21 through the ends of the block.

In the valve member 30 between the outlets 34 and 35 there is a restriction having a central opening 31 surrounded by a valve seat 38. Mounted in the outer portion of the valve member is a plunger 39. This plunger has a guide stem 40 extending loosely through the opening 31 and has a resilient disk 4| mounted thereon at the base of the stem for engaging the valve seat 3B to close the opening 31 whenever the plunger is depressed. The outer end portion of the plunger extends loosely through a central opening in the cap 33. However, the plunger is sealed gas-tight to the cap by means of an annularl diaphragm 42 the inner edge of which is sealed to the plunger and the outer edge of which is clamped tightly by the cap 33 against the outer edge of the valve member. This diaphragm is yieldable and normally holds the plunger 39 in open position with respect to the valve seat 38 as shown in Figure 4. In this position of the plunger both outlets 34 and 35 are in communication with the interior of the cell. l'Ihe outlet 35, which is opened at the lower inlet pressure, is then controlling to prevent `the internal pressure of the cell from exceeding the lower limit abovementioned. If the plunger 39 is depressed inwardly to close the opening 31, the outlet 35 is sealed off from the battery cell. The outlet 34 is then controlling and will allow the internal pressure of the cell to rise to the upper limit abovementioned. Y

As the cover I9 is closed, it impinges against the plungers 39 to close the openings 31 and to seal the outlets 35 from the respective cells. The outlets 34 are then controlling to allow the internal cell pressure to rise to the higher limit abovementioned before the valve will release. In order that the plungers 39 will be held in closed positions under suitable pressure so long as the cover is latohed in closed position, the cover is provided with a resilient pad 43 on its inner Wall portion overlying the block 26.

The setting of the valves to release at higher internal cell pressures of the order of twentyive to thirty-ve pounds per square inch, by the closing of the battery container as above described, is adapted to permit a wide margin of pressure build-up in the respective cells, which is normally greater than will occur during a days use of the battery or between successive chargings, so that electrolyte spillage will normally be prevented should the battery be inverted during its use in the eld. The setting of the release valves to open at a lower pressure of the order of one to ve pounds per square inch, as the cover is opened to expose the charging terminals 20a, allows a suitable margin of pressure build-up during charging which is normally sufficient to prevent spillage of electrolyte shouldr the battery be inverted during handling incidental to the charging operation. The particular release pressures herein stated have been found to be suitable for mine lamp batteries for the purposes herein described. It will be understood however that the release pressures may be varied, as by appropriate selection of the Wall thickness of the sleeve 35, according to the needs of each application of the valves.

I have herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of a release valve according to my invention, but this description is intended to be illustrative and not limitative of the invention since the same is subject to changes and modifications without departure from the scope of myinvention, which I endeavor to express according to the following claims.

I claim:

1. A release valve comprising a tubular member having an inlet and two peripheral outlets communicating with said inlet, a resilient band embracing said tubular member, said band comprising portions of different thicknesses coveringv said outlets respectively and responsive to cause,

ber between said outlet passageways for closing off one of said outletY passageways from said inlet, and means at the end of said tubular member opposite said inlet passageway oroperating said control valve. Y

3. A release valve comprising a tubular member having an inlet passageway and two peripheral outlet passageways, yieldable sealing means closing the outer end of saidtubular member,

a control valve in said tubular member Ymovable from one position to another to close off one of said outlet passageways from said inlet passage- 5 Way, said control valve being connected to said sealing means and being normally held thereby in one of its` said positions, and pressure-responsive closure means associated with said outlet passageways and adapted to cause the outlet passageways to open at different inlet pressures. Y

4. A release valve comprising a tubular member having an inlet passageway at one end and having a plunger at the other end, a yieldable diaphragm sealing said plunger to said tubularl member, a pair of peripheral outlet passageways in said tubular member, pressure-responsive means associated with said outlet passageways and adapted to cause them to open at diierent inlet pressures, and valve means operable by said plunger to close oi one of said outlet passageways from said inlet passageway.

5. A release valve comprising a tubular member having van inlet at one end and a plunger at the other end and having adjoining intermediate portions of lesser and greater diameters respectively nearer and farther from said inlet end of the tubular member, each of said portions having a peripheral outlet opening, a common resilient band embracing said intermediate portions of said tubular member and having one section of greater wall thickness overlying the outlet nearer said inlet and having a section of lesser wall thickness overlying the other outlet,

6 a control valve between said outlets operable by said plunger to close off said other outlet from said inlet, and yieldable means sealing said plunger to said tubular member and yieldably holding said control valve in open position.

6. A release valve comprising a hollow conduit having a single main passageway provided with an inlet and separate outlets spaced alongr said conduit, pressure-responsive closure means associated with said outlets and responsive to pressure at said inlet to cause one of said outlets to open when the inlet pressure exceeds a predetermined lower value and the other of said outlets to open when the inlet pressure exceeds a predetermined higher value, and a shutoff valve in said conduit between said outlets operable to close off one only of said outlets from the said inlet.

WILLSON Y. STAMPER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 375,748 Hill Jan. 3, 1888 881,234 Fusch Mar. l0, 1908 1,368,315 Wygodsky Feb. 15, 1921 1,800,066 Glass Apr. 7, 1931 1,871,043 Chalmers Aug. 9, 1932 

